Improvement in dumping-cars



vImprovemen'f in Dumping-Cars.

- QN0H6,127 l Y Patentedmnmn.

Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB C. WISWELL, OF LENNOXVILLE, CANADA, AND FREDERICK A. WIS- WELL,BEEBE PLAIN, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN` DUMPlNG-CARS.,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 116,127, dated June 20,1871.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that we, J Aeon C. WIswELL, of

Lennoxville, in the county of Compton, Prov-- ince of Quebec andDominion of Canada, and FREDERICK A. WIsWELI., of Beebe Plain, in thecounty of Orleans and StateA of Vermont, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Railroad Ballast-Cars; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which willenable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinalsection of our improved balance-car, the plane of section beingindicated by the line a' x, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view ofthe same. Figs. 3 and 4 are vertical transverse sections of the sametaken on the plane of the line y y, Fig. l, showing it in the positionsof unloading and loading, respectively.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The object of this invention is to provide a railroad car with a jointedtop or platform,

which can be raised in the middle and lowered at the sides, to forminclined planes, from which its load will be spontaneously discharged.The labor of unloading sand and ballast from the cars is thus avoided,and the process' carried out much more rapidly than by 'manual labor.The invention consists, rst, in making the car-platform of twolongitudinal s ections, which are hinged together, so that they can beraised in the middle to discharge whatever has been placed upon them.The inventionalso consists in the use of new mechanism for raising orlowering the middle part of the platform by means of the rolling gear ofthe car.

A in the drawing represents the frame of the car, the truck-axles B andwheels C being of suitable or ordinary construction. D is thecar-platform lor top, extending from end to end of the frame. Thiscar-top is made in two longitudinal leaves or halves, a and b, which areunited at their contiguous edges by means of hinges c o, as is clearlyshown in Figs. 3 and 4. E E are two levers, which are, at their innerends, in the middle of the car, pivoted to straps or links d, thatproject from the frame A, as shown in Fig. l. The outer ends of thelevers E are, by links e e, connected with some of the hinges c, whichunite the leaves a b, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1.Y To the under sideof each lever E is hinged or pivoted, at f, one end of a lever, F, theother end of which is, at g, pivoted to the car-frame. Each lever Fembraces a vertical screw, h, which rests on a horizontal lever, k, thatis pivoted to the lower part of a pendent frame, i, of the frame A. Thelower end of each screw h carries a pinion, j, which can, by swingingtheleverk, be brought into gear with a gearwheel, l, on one of the axles B.There is the same arrangement near each lever F--that is to say, neareach end of the car. Each lever F carries a nut, m, which embraces andfits the screw h, and is held in acavity of the lever above a strap, n,of the same, so as to have a slight upright play in the lever. A spring,o, on the strap tends to elevate the nut in the lever. When the levers kare swung by suitable lever-connections 19 p,

by the turning of an upright shaft, G, at one p end of the car, so as-to carry the pinions j in gear with the wheels l, the apparatus is inmotion. The screws h will then be revolved, so as to raise the nut m,and thereby also the levers F, which cause the levers E to be elevatedat their outer ends. This movement of the levers E causes the contiguousparts of the leaves a b to be elevated, while their outer parts arelowered, so that the car-top will become roof-shaped, as in Fig. 3. Themotion of the leaves on the outer part of the car-frame is facilitatedby means of friction-rollers r r, placed under said leaves, as shown.When the leaves are thus swung up it is evident that they will dischargefrom their surfaces all earth or matter that had been placed upon them.When the nuts have been raised to their greatest height they run of thethreaded portions of the screws h, and will, as said screws are stillrevolved, be alternately raised and lowered on the end of the thread;this causes an up-anddown play and a shaking of the leaves, which willentirely free them from their load. When the car ismoved in the oppositedirection the nuts are screwed down to lower the leaves, until they forma flat top, as in Fig. 4. When quite low the nuts leave the threadedportions of the screws, and are crowded against the springs o,to beagain tzt-ken up when the screws hinged leaves a b land with the nuts mand :1i-e turned in the other direction. screws k, to operatesubstantially :is herein Having thus described our invention, We shownand described.

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters JACOB G. VVISWELL.

Patent- FREDERICK A. WISWELL.

1. In combination with the railroad car, a Witnesses:

plattform, D, made in two longitudinal sections, D. THOMAS,

a I), hinged together at c o, :ind applied as Notary Publio, Sherbrooke,Canada.

and for the purpose specified. ALEXR. AIR'LH,

2. The levers E E F F, combined with the O ce Clerk, of Sherbrooke,Canada.

